FMCSA proposes changes to Hours of Service Rules for more flexibility

On August 22, 2019, the FMCSA published its Proposed Rule that looks to change the Hours of Service Rules to “provide greater flexibility for drivers subject to the HOS rules without adversely affecting safety.”

FMCSA states that the proposal helps by allowing drivers to shift their work and driving time around to account for variables such as traffic and detention time.

The Agency will be accepting public comments on the proposal until October 7, 2019. They are legally required to consider these comments before publishing a final rule that will actually change the Hours regs.

This means that you have the chance to let the Agency know what you think of the proposal and how it will affect your operation. It also gives the Agency its first opportunity to consider aggregated and anonymized data from KeepTruckin ELDs and our Driver Community, giving it visibility into the real-world operation of today’s trucker’s day-to-day.

Change the 30-minute break requirement to apply after 8 hours of drive-time without at least 30 minutes of non-driving time

Allow a 7-3 split sleeper with neither period counting against the 14-hour clock; and

Pause the 14-hour clock with 30 minutes to three hours consecutive off-duty (so long as you take 10 hours off-duty at the end of your shift)

You may be thinking: “Some of this sounds vaguely familiar. Didn’t yall say something like this a couple of years ago?”

Yep, we did. In 2017, KeepTruckin crunched some of our data and found a spike in vehicle speeds occurring after an extended period of detention at a shipping/receiving facility. We circulated a petition that proposed an extension of the driving window of up to two hours when a driver was delayed. It received over 43,000 signatures in support. Moreover, it started the public HOS change conversation.

Okay. What’s next?

Tell us what you think about the proposal! What do you like? What do you not like? Will it help you get more miles? Will it make you safer? Will it make you more efficient? Will it cause more delays at shipping/receiving facilities? Even though it will be a good while before any changes go into effect, now is the time to make your voice heard!